Biobased materials for polyurethane dispersions

Nowadays, most of the commercially available resins are synthesized from petroleum based stocks. Besides exhibiting excellent properties, synthetic resins are coming under increasing restrictions due to tightening environmental exposure regulations, high depletion rates and exponential rising prices of petrochemical stocks etc. So, considering an increasing ecological and economical issue in the new generation coating industries, the maximum utilization of naturally available resources for polymer/resin synthesis can be an obvious option. These renewable resources can be utilized for number of polymerization reactions due to their reactive functionalities such as hydroxyl groups, carboxyl groups, unsaturation, reactive phenolic structures etc. Therefore, a wide variety of resins can be synthesized from renewable resources, some of them being, alkyd, polyesters, phenolic resins, epoxy resins, polyurethanes, acrylics, vinyl, etc. The present paper discussed the potential of naturally available resources as an environment friendly alternative for petroleum based raw materials as far as coating industries are concerned.